Torchwood Series 1 Episodes Ranked
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- DirectorAndy GoddardStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanIn the countryside north of Cardiff, the Torchwood team investigates the disappearance of 17 people in the last few months. No bodies have been found and the police haven't a clue as to what may have happened to them. They set up camp in a field but when their SUV is stolen and then parked in a small village just a few miles away, they realize they're being lured into a trap. In the village, they find the remains of several inhabitants - stripped of flesh and organs - and one terrified survivor who promptly shoots Gwen with a shotgun. With Ianto and Tosh taken prisoner, they all soon come to realize that people are being hunted.Countrycide (Goddard, 2006)
8.7
So Chris Chibnall can actually write really good episodes. Knew he had it in him. This episode is Torchwood at its best. Wonderfully tense, surprisingly dark and with a really good big reveal. - DirectorAlice TroughtonStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanWhen a passenger plane from 1953 arrives in Cardiff in 2007 due to the Rift, the Torchwood team try to help three temporal immigrants adapt a new life in the city.Out of Time (Troughton, 2006)
8.6
Something I've found which makes a difference between Doctor Who and Torchwood is that the latter can consistently have me in tears over multiple episodes whereas Doctor Who just has those few, those brilliantly written few. This is a great premise and I think it's the man, John Ellis, whose story is the hardest hitting for me. - DirectorAshley WayStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanJack and Tosh investigate when there are reports of music coming out of nowhere in an abandoned dance hall. While in the building, a temporal rift sends them back to 1941, but they soon realize they can't get back to their own time. At least not without Tosh sending those in the present day the necessary equations to make it happen. While at the dance hall, Jack runs into someone he knows, an American RAF pilot by the name of Jack Harkness. In the present day, Owen, Ianto, and Gwen are working to get them back. Owen wants to open the rift and try to get Diane Holmes back as well, but opening the rift could destroy the city. The dance hall manager, Bilis Manger, seems to have little trouble going back and forth in time, however.Captain Jack Harkness (Way, 2007)
8.4
A really good penultimate episode for the story where the group finally find out more about Jack's mysterious past. - DirectorAshley WayStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanThe Rift is splintering - strange phenomena like UFOs and ancient soldiers are falling through time into various places around the world. These events resemble those in the prophecy of the arrival of Abaddon, the Great Devourer, who will lead the world into shadow and bring about the End of Days...End of Days (Way, 2007)
8.1
A strong episode to finish on with lots of emotional beats and tension between the group. Also, a nice reference to one of my favourite Doctor Who two-parters (The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit) even if the CGI's not all that. - DirectorJames ErskineStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanThe invisible spirit of a hit-and-run victim tries to convince Gwen to locate the 'alien' who might have been responsible for his death.Random Shoes (Erskine, 2006)
7.8
This episode really struggles with a somewhat plodding storyline, lack of action and a protagonist that is almost boring. But then the ending comes around and the whole episode is redeemed. - DirectorColin TeagueStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanThe team is asked to analyze a recently discovered 18th century corpse with a hole in its chest. Meanwhile, a mysterious charismatic woman seduces Tosh and gives her an alien pendant that allows its wearer to read other people's minds.Greeks Bearing Gifts (Teague, 2006)
7.8
The episode is slightly hampered by a slow pace and clichéd sci-fi plot point with knowing what everyone is thinking but it focuses on Tosh who is one of my underrated favourites of the Torchwood gangs. - DirectorColin TeagueStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanAfter Gwen Cooper recovers an alien device from Sean Harris, the device seemingly takes her back in time to the 1940s where she sees a young boy, alone on a railway platform. Soon after, Owen has a similar experience only this time he is under a bridge in the early 1960s where a young woman is raped and murdered. They trace both the boy and the murderer and learn that the boy was well taken care of. As for the murderer, the case remains unsolved, something that outrages Owen.Ghost Machine (Teague, 2006)
7.6
A really dark early episode which helped reinforce the tone of Torchwood. I like having such a disgusting villain in a Doctor Who universe story and the scene with Owen watching it all unfold was really gripping. - DirectorBrian KellyStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanPolice Constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organization known as Torchwood. While investigating their world, she finds technology and methods she never imagined.Everything Changes (Kelly, 2006)
7.5
Fairly strong initial episode which sets up the mystery of Torchwood Three nicely. Indira Varma is a great actress and this had a nice mystery to it but the ending seemed a little melodramatic for my taste. - DirectorJames StrongStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanTorchwood is called into a murder investigation when a suburban couple are found in their beds with their throats slit and TORCHWOOD written on the wall in their blood. Gwen convinces them to use the gauntlet to reanimate the victims to see if they can get the identity of the killer. They have little success but when they learn that their former colleague Suzie Costello had a connection to the victims, they decide to revive her. Normally, the dead can only be revived for a minute or two at most but in Suzie's case, she seems to have been reanimated permanently. When they learn that she is drawing her life force from a member of the Torchwood team, the others have to find a way to stop her.They Keep Killing Suzie (Strong, 2006)
7.4
I don't think I'd rate this as highly as everyone else seems to. Yes, there is a some really good dialogue thrown in here but the episode is still middle of the road for the first series of Torchwood. - DirectorAlice TroughtonStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanJasmine is a withdrawn but intelligent child whose new 'friends' exploit her suppressed anger, and while investigating this, Jack encounters elemental enemies from his past that are determined to harm those closest to him.Small Worlds (Troughton, 2006)
7.3
The fae are somewhat interesting and I like the little touch of Jack meeting an old flame all grown up but that girl. God that girl was so fucking annoying! I'm glad she went off into the woods. Her stepdad was right, she was pretty weird. - DirectorAndy GoddardStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanThe team discovers a ring who are kidnapping Weevils - wild alien creatures that have come through the Rift and are hiding on Earth - which leads Owen down a dark path to confront the future of his own existence.Combat (Goddard, 2006)
7.3
I really like this episode but you can't help and feel that it's a little bit of a filler. Not the most notable one which it loses points for but I think its a really interesting premise, a very despicable villain and has a very effective plot for developing Owen's character. - DirectorJames StrongStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanThere's a dark secret in the basement of the Hub. Even Jack is unaware of it, but Ianto knows. And he'll go to any lengths, sacrifice anything and anyone, to protect what's down there.Cyberwoman (Strong, 2006)
7.2
This could have been one of Chris Chibnall's best episodes. It has all the emotional steps for Ianto's character and first episode at the forefront. Except, for some stupid reason, someone in the boardroom suggested that she be a half naked Cyberwoman with boobies. Such a distracting and awful design for a character that is quite threatening when your trapped in a basement complex. I'd have given this a much lower score if it wasn't for the fact the show completely went there with the pizza delivery girl ending. - DirectorBrian KellyStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanTorchwood must stop a sex addicted alien as it leaves a trail of gruesome deaths in its wake.Day One (Kelly, 2006)
7.0
I don't think it's utterly terrible and in a way it works as the series' second episode as it sets up both Gwen's empathy streak and the fact that the watershed show will dare to delve into sex and violence. It's just a shame that it's a little bit dull compared to the others.